Onset
by threelittlebirds94
Summary: Reid suffers a major trauma, but things get even worse when this trauma sets off something in Reid. Rating may change later. Reid-centric.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first CM fanfiction! And it will become VERY Reid-centric. I already know what is going to happen next, so I will continue this fic, but I need reviews! They are my inspiration! Without reviews, I will not know if someone is reading the story, and then I will probably not update. Or at least, a hell of a lot slower.**

**JJ is still present! *sniff* *sniff* I miss JJ. The team in this fanfic consists of: Reid, Morgan, JJ, Prentiss, Hotch, Rossi and Garcia.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds…**

JJ rushed through the BAU without saying anything and ran into Hotch's office. The team could already guess they probably had a case waiting for them, yet another person had committed the horrifying crime of killing another human being. Trying to keep their hopes up, they said nothing about it and stared at their computer screen without actually reading its contents. Less than a minute later, JJ walked back out and signaled the team into the conference room. Reid instantly turned off his computer, assuming they wouldn't be returning there for some days, picked up his go-bag and paced toward the conference room. Morgan forcefully stood up and pushed his chair back under the table hanging his jacket over his shoulder. Prentiss turned off her computer and headed to the room with the round table where they heard the most terrifying real-life stories anyone could ever imagine. Rossi had spent most of his life doing this sort of thing and had had more than one hundred cases, but every case still got to his very core.

Once in the conference room, JJ pointed her remote control to the plasma screen and started presenting.

"Three women between the ages of fifty and sixty have been killed in the past three weeks, one each week." Morgan was the first one to talk:

"One a week? That's not much of a cooling off period." JJ nodded

"First victim was Sarah Fisher, 56, found in Salt Lake City, Utah. She had been stabbed multiple times. Second victim Eleanor Powell, 52, found in Pinal, Arizona, had been stabbed numerous times. Third victim, Veronica Evans, 59, was found in Riverside, California, and like the other victims, she had also been stabbed several times." In between victims, JJ pressed a button on her control remote and several crime scene photos appeared on the large screen. Confused, Rossi asked:

"Wait, they were found in different states? How do we even know it's the same guy?" JJ subtly pointed the remote in the direction of Rossi and said:

"That's where it gets out of the ordinary; a family member of all three victims received a phone call from a man whom is most likely our UNSUB, apologizing for the victims' death seconds before he killed them." "Creepy." Reid frowned and Prentiss asked:

"So, Rossi, now do you believe it's a serial?"

"Well, since the signature is _pretty_ unusual, I'd have to say yes. Who called us in?"

"California PD. Wheels up in 30 minutes." Hotch concluded "We're going to all three states together, first Utah, followed by Arizona, and then California, got it?"

"Got it." Morgan said as he headed outside of the conference room towards his desk and shut his computer off.

"See, I knew you should have turned off your computer earlier." Reid said as he stood next to Morgan, ready, with his go-bag on his shoulder.

"Yeah, okay, but you didn't tell me that, now did you?" Morgan smiled when he realized he had managed to shut the genius up.

For the next thirty minutes, the team ate something small, drank something, went to the restroom, took a nap, and finally, went to the airport and got on the jet.

Reid, Hotch, Morgan, JJ, Prentiss and Rossi were all sitting around a laptop screen listening to Garcia, whom, besides their age and gender, had found absolutely nothing the three women had in common.

"Sarah Fisher was a hairdresser; she had two kids and was divorced twice. Eleanor Powell was a stewardess, had no kids and was single at the time of death. Veronica Evans was a lawyer; she had one child and was happily married to an accountant." Garcia said upset.

"So," Morgan understood "the only thing these murders have in common is the signature, the MO and the fact that the victims are middle-aged women?" The chocolate-colored man asked frustrated. "Not even their hair color or body type coincides!"

"No, yeah, I don't know. It's all I can find, sorry." was the response he got from Garcia.

"Babe, you know that doesn't get us anywhere. Keep digging."

"I know, I know! I will. Garcia out." The computer screen went black.

The chocolate-colored man leaned back in his chair frustrated and yawned. It was almost ten o'clock in the afternoon and the team was getting weary.

It was early in the morning of Wednesday, the UNSUB would probably strike again within 4 days. The team had slept in a hotel in Utah and had booked three rooms for one night, because they knew they would spend the next night in Arizona. Morgan and Reid had slept together in one room, Hotch and Rossi in another and finally Prentiss and JJ in the last. They were all up and ready by 6 o'clock in the morning and they were on their way to the local authorities' department by 6:30, after breakfast. The local authorities' Sheriff welcomed them and introduced himself.

"Sheriff Daren Rogers, you can call me Daren, nice to meet you" he said. Daren Rogers was a married middle-aged man, he was tall and skinny, greatly respected by all his officers and he had been running the local police for almost six years. He shook everyone but Reid's hand, whom simply waved to him, and he waved back. JJ was the one to introduce the team to the sheriff while they all shook hands with the sheriff then proceeded to asking "You here for the Sarah Fisher case, right?" Hotch answered the Sheriffs' question:

"Yes, that's right." The Sheriff, whom still doubted about if there even _was_ a case, asked:

"So…are you sure this is a serial? I mean, they _were_ found in different states." Reid instantly came back.

"We are well aware that this is a special case, but as you probably already know, a family member of each victim received a phone call apologizing for the deaths of the fatalities prior to their actual decease. It also seems that these phone calls were made seconds before the time of death of the victims, according to forensics. Besides, all victims are middle aged women, and they were all stabbed repeatedly. "

"Yes, we are sure." Morgan simplified. Sheriff Rogers seemed a little astonished by the strong informed answer and gave in accordingly.

"All right. So, you want me to take you to the crime scene? There's not much left since the murder was three weeks ago, but maybe you will find something that can help you." Hotch nodded, certifying the Sheriff's question. And Rossi added:

"I'm sure there will be"

They all –including the Sheriff- got in Hotch's car and drove to the crime scene with Daren's lead. They arrived in about fifteen minutes. The house was average; not too large, not too small. It was a yellow-brownish color, and had a black roof. There was no garage and no car, the garden was pretty large and had lots of flowers.

"He got in through the back door," Daren said "she left it unlocked."

"You think he knew that? Maybe he watches them before he kills them." Prentiss asked.

"I don't know, could be." Hotch answered "Sheriff, was there any evidence that he tried to get in through somewhere else before trying the back door?"

"Not that I know of." Daren took out his cell phone "I'll ask." He then stepped away further from the team, where there was less noise. The team walked toward the house and Rossi cut the crime scene tape with his penknife. The first visible thing once inside was Sarah's blood. All over the living floor, and walls. Sarah Fisher had been stabbed eighteen times with a kitchen knife the UNSUB had found on-scene.

"Definite overkill. He could have anger management issues. And the stabbing suggests impotence." Reid said, while he frowned and looked closely at the crime scene, his hands gripping firmly onto his bag.

"Everything seems to be in place. It doesn't seem he stole anything." Morgan added, while he looked at a framed picture of Sarah and her two children, which he had found on top of the fireplace.

"So, he does this solely for the killing. It's not that his intention was stealing and things got out of control" Rossi clarified.

Morgan spoke again "She doesn't seem to have kept close relations with her ex-husbands. I can find absolutely no pictures of them."

"Well, I don't blame her! Her second husband filed for divorce five weeks after they married, and got away with half her money!" Prentiss said, rising her voice and feeling sorry for the dead woman. Just then, Daren walked in.

"There was no evidence that our guy tried to get in any other way" he said.

"Okay, thanks, I think we've seen everything" Hotch answered "Sheriff Rogers, thank you very much for everything. We'll drive you back to your department." Daren nodded:

"All right, keep me updated."

"Well, I talked to some acquaintances of Eleanor Powell through the phone-" Morgan interrupted:

"You find anything?"

"I was just about to tell you, hot stuff. You know, for such a handsome man, you really are impatient." Garcia said smiling.

"Sorry, Baby Girl. Can you tell us now?" It took only that for Garcia to realize Morgan was not in the mood.

"Yeah, umm, it looks like she got out of an abusive relationship less than a year ago."

Upset, Hotch asked: "Anything else?"

"But of course, my horse!" Hotch's grimace was immediately replaced with a surprised look "Veronica Evans separated from her husband two years ago, and she never saw him again."

"That's it! That's what they have in common!" Rossi exclaimed, and the whole team, including Garcia through the computer screen, looked at him with a questioning look. "They have all been wronged by men!" The team gazed at each other deductively, and Rossi proceeded "Sarah Fisher's second husband only married her for money; Eleanor Powell was in an abusive relationship and Veronica Evans was abandoned by her husband to raise her child alone!"

Ten minutes later, the plane landed in Arizona. It was already late, so the team just went straight to the hotel they had booked. After having eaten something at the hotel's restaurant, they all fell asleep unusually early. Tomorrow they would visit Eleanor Powell's deathbed.

**OK, I know this first chapter is pretty boring, but it will get interesting. And Reid-centric. And I need reviews, so that I will have the will to carry on.**


	2. Chapter 2

The team had set their alarm clock at 6 o'clock in the morning of that day, so they'd have time to get ready –shower, dress up, have breakfast- before proceeding to the next crime scene. But the alarm clock had been of no use to Reid, as he had woken up from a nightmare at three o'clock, and hadn't been able to fall asleep since. Although Reid usually remembered every single thing in his life, he could not remember what his dream- nightmare was about.

"Damn it! I have an eidetic memory! I'm supposed to remember this!" he thought "Umm, no I'm not. This was a creation of my subconscious; an eidetic memory doesn't allow me to remember that!" he corrected himself "Oh, great, now I'm talking to myself" Reid said realizing he had said the last couple of sentences out loud.

The young genius ended up spending the rest of the night -well, morning, actually- trying to remember his nightmare and making shadow puppets out of boredom. Then, at 5:40 he showered, and was out of the shower and dressed by six, then he waited in the hotel's restaurant for the rest of the team. Since the rest of the team had set their alarm at the time Reid was already clean and dressed, he waited for quite a while.

"Hey, Pretty Boy! How long have you been waiting here?" Morgan asked when he arrived at the restaurant at 6:30 and saw Reid randomly folding up his napkin.

"Oh, hey Morgan! Euh…I've been here since about…six, I think" Reid answered, looking up from the table.

"Six?" Reid nodded "We were supposed to set our alarm at six, you didn't?" Morgan asked surprised.

"Oh, no, I did." Reid responded, not seeming to be able to give a reasonable explanation for him being up so early. At least, not one he wanted to give. Morgan looked confused:

"I don't get it. If you set your alarm at six then why were you up and ready by six?"

"Umm...euh…I just, euh, woke up early?" Morgan smiled a little bit and replied:

"Heh, you suck so bad at lying, it's actually cute!" Reid blushed, as Morgan appeared worried and flirtatious at the same time. "So, you gonna tell me what this is all about?" Reid sighed.

"It's nothing, I just…sort of had a nightmare, all right?" he said looking back to the folded napkin he was holding. Now Morgan only looked concerned, but just when he was about to ask what Reid's nightmare was about, Rossi and Prentiss walked in.

"Good morning." Rossi said, Reid and Morgan replied. Some minutes later JJ and Hotch arrived, and they all had breakfast. They had gotten the Eleanor Powell's address from Garcia and had agreed to meet the Arizona PD at six thirty at her house. After breakfast, they all got in the car, and Hotch drove. The ride lasted about twenty minutes, and every now and then, Morgan would glare at Reid suspiciously, while the rest of the team was completely ignorant to the fact that Reid wasn't exactly fine that morning. Not only had he had a nightmare he didn't remember, but also had he only had about four hours of sleep.

When they arrived at Eleanor's house, they only saw a couple of people waiting. It was obvious the crime had occurred some time ago, even if it was only two weeks. The previous crime scene had seemed more recent, although it was a week older. The team stepped out of the car, and walked toward the person who seemed to be in charge.

"What did you say his name was?" asked Hotch.

"Umm," JJ looked through some papers "Nathaniel Sharp"

"Okay, thanks."

When the team reached the agent, Hotch got the man's attention.

"Agent Sharp?"The man turned around to face Hotch and the rest of the team.

"That's me. You're from the BAU?" He asked, putting off his cigarette against the wall.

"Yes, we are. This is SSA Aaron Hotchner," JJ signaled at Hotch "SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA David Rossi, SSA Derek Morgan and Doctor Reid. I'm Jennifer Jareau, the media liaison, you can call me JJ"

The man nodded and guided the team in the house. He was in his mid-thirties and was obviously a hard smoker, judging by the jaundice in his eyes, his yellow teeth and the half empty pack of cigarettes in the back pocket of his pants.

Eleanor Powell's house was small.

He led them to the kitchen. There was no longer any blood, and everything else appeared clean and in its place as well.

"She was found right there. She had been stabbed twenty-two times; he used the knife she was cooking with." Agent Sharp introduced.

"Was there any money missing? Jewelry?" Reid asked

"Nothing."

"Well, it matches the MO of the Sarah Fisher murder: murder weapon found on-scene, multiple stab wounds, nothing stolen." Morgan said.

"Agent, where through did the UNSUB enter the house?" asked Hotch.

The agent looked a little confused at the use of the word "UNSUB" but assumed it –in some way- meant the killer, so he answered:

"He came in through the garage door. It's directly linked with the kitchen."

"Was the garage door locked?" Reid asked

"No, she didn't lock it."

"Ever?" Reid asked again

"Ever."

"Why?"

"She, uh, lost the keys."

"He must have known that." Rossi commented.

"So he does watch them?" Prentiss asked

"I think so. And if he doesn't, he knows them." Hotch answered

"You think he knows them?"

"It's possible. We can't know yet for sure." Hotch turned to agent Sharp "Thank you very much, agent Sharp, I believe we're done here. We'll keep you posted."

"All right." The agent replied, pulling out another cigarette.

They all said their farewells and headed back to the car. Morgan was still wondering what Reid's nightmare had been about, and the couple of times he had looked at him throughout the ride, Reid hadn't looked back –even though Morgan was almost sure he knew he was looking at him- and he had looked very uncomfortable, so Morgan stopped.

By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon, and the team agreed to meet in the restaurant for lunch at two-thirty, to give themselves a little time to rest.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Reid went up to his room and put his go-bag down on the ground. He was exhausted. The day hadn't been a very hard one, but he had woken up very early. Reid went to the bathroom, washed his face with ice-cold water, realized he was still tired, decided to take a nap and laid down on his bed. Before he knew what had happened, he had fallen fast asleep.

OOOXOOOXOOO

After arriving at the hotel, Morgan got in the elevator, walked through the hallway and entered his room. He wasn't tired like Reid, but for some reason unknown even to himself, he had a bad feeling about this case. He didn't know if it was Reid's nightmare which made him feel that way, or if it was…well, something else. Finally he lay down on his bed and watched TV until two-twenty-five.

OOOXOOOXOOO

When Morgan arrived at the restaurant, he saw Prentiss, Hotch and Rossi already sitting at a table with menus.

"So what're you all having?" Morgan asked a little excited.

"I don't know yet." Hotch answered "But I think I'll have lasagna."

Rossi chuckled "Yeah, I really don't know yet, not like Hotch here."

"Me neither" Prentiss added, just when JJ walked in, with wet hair. The team, minus Reid, looked at her.

"What? I took a shower. To freshen up, you know?" They nodded. "Hey, where's Reid?"

"He's not here yet" Hotch answered. "Morgan, could you go check on him?" Morgan nodded and walked away.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Morgan stood in front of Reid's hotel door and knocked three times, then waited a second and knocked once more, like the team had decided some years ago, to prevent unnecessary casualties. No answer. Morgan tried again. He waited about a minute and just when he was about to try again, he heard something move inside. He waited some seconds more, and Reid opened the door.

"Morgan! Hey, what's up?" Reid's hair was shooting to every possible direction, and he looked even more tired than always.

"What's up? We agreed to meet down at the restaurant at two-thirty, it's almost two-fifty."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay, I'll be down in no time." The young genius said as he closed the door in Morgan's face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Some spoilers for "Elephant's memory".**

**OOO**

"I'm having the roasted chicken" Rossi said to everyone sitting at the table at the moment. That included himself, Hotch, JJ and Prentiss. Morgan had gone get Reid some minutes ago.

"I think I'll have the…euh… beef with mushroom sauce." JJ said, with some doubt in her voice.

"I'll have lasagna, too" Prentiss finished, just when Morgan returned and sat down next to JJ. The team of profilers rapidly noticed something was bothering him, as he had a frown on his face and said nothing after he sat down.

"Hey, Morgan, you okay?" JJ asked him with a slightly worried look on her face, as she touched his shoulder to get his attention. Morgan looked at her startled, since he had been pretty deep in his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he asked, still keeping his frown.

"Are you okay?" JJ repeated.

"Umm, yeah, why?" he answered as he opened a menu and started turning its pages without actually reading its content.

"Because," JJ said "you look…worried."

Morgan looked up and realized the rest of the team was looking at him worriedly as well. Since it wasn't really him they should be worrying about, Morgan decided to tell them.

"Umm, yeah, it's just…Reid." He finished there, a moment the team assumed to be the middle of a sentence, not the end.

"What about Reid?" Rossi asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah." Morgan said, remembering he hadn't actually explained anything yet. "Reid told me he had a nightmare. He seemed pretty shook up by it."

"Did he tell you what it was about?" asked Prentiss.

"No, I was about to ask him when you walked in."

"Oh." Prentiss said a little disappointed. Hotch intervened:

"Wait, so, this is what you were so worried about? A nightmare?" Morgan sighed.

"I just…have a bad feeling about this."

OOOXOOOXOOO

Reid closed the door in Morgan's face and hurried to the bathroom to comb his very disarrayed hair.

"How did I fall asleep? I said nap! Not sleep!" he said while combing his hair and he proceeded by pouring some water on his face to freshen up. He sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair and over his face, and then leaned on the sink with his hand as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"Shit!" he said almost yelling as he turned around and leaned on the sink, with his back this time. "Why can't I remember? Damn it! It's on the tip on my tongue!" he thought. He sighed again and remembered he told Morgan he would be down in no time, so he rushed out. He was so unfocused he forgot to use the elevator.

OOOXOOOXOOO

A few minutes after Morgan had told the team about his worries, Reid hopped in the restaurant in such way he got most of the people's attention. Realizing this, he stopped running and nervously put his hair behind his ear as he walked to the table where the team was located.

Reid sat down and directly took the remaining menu, which was lying on the table.

"You guys order already?" he asked, trying to avoid the conversation he feared was coming.

"No, not yet." Hotch answered dismissing Reid's question easily.

"But you've all chosen?" Reid tried again.

"Yes." Morgan answered this time. Reid was growing nervous.

"So, what are you all having?" he asked, not looking anyone in the eyes.

"Reid, that's not important." Hotch snapped a little bit. Reid stared at him and swallowed hard. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." He said, taking his eyes off Hotch and back to the menu he was holding. They all stared at him. The use of that specific word made it even more obvious he wasn't. Reid noticed the worried looks on the team's faces and said:

"Look, I'm fine, okay? I just had a nightmare, that's all. What's the big deal about that?" there was a hint of anger and irritation in his voice, and they all caught it. Despite that, they decided to shut up about it and finally eat their lunch.

OOOXOOOXOOO

"Garcia, girl, what did you find on Veronica Evans?" Morgan asked Garcia through the monitor. After finishing their food, the team had gotten on the jet to go to California.

"Not much. Umm…her daughter's twenty-one, currently studying to be a pharmacist. Her husband retired after she died, and moved in with a friend." Garcia said, a little disappointed in herself on how few relevant things she had found.

"Umm, okay, that's all right." Hotch said, as Garcia hung up and disappeared from the screen.

OOOXOOOXOOO

By the time they were in their hotel in California, it was already six o'clock in the afternoon. Hotch decided he would let the team rest, and they would Veronica's house/crime scene the next day in the morning.

"Hi, we have a reservation under the name 'BAU'" Hotch said to the man at the counter of their hotel. The man checked his computer for a couple of seconds and looked up:

"Sorry, you don't." he said, looking like he was genuinely sorry for the exhausted-looking agents.

"Excuse me?" Hotch asked.

"We don't have any reservations under the name 'BAU'." The young man repeated. Hotch sighed.

"Okay, do you have any rooms left?" The man checked his computer again, then looked at Hotch with a smile and said:

"Yes, we have four rooms left."

"With two beds?"

"Two of them have two beds."

"Perfect. We'll take them all."

Hotch turned to the rest of the team:

"Morgan, you share a room with Reid and JJ, you share one with Prentiss, okay?"

All four nodded, and Rossi turned to Hotch and added:

"So I guess you and I will have our own independent rooms?"

Hotch nodded as he received four keys from the young man at the counter and gave three of them to Rossi, Morgan and JJ.

OOOXOOOXOOO

JJ put down her bags at the same time as Prentiss, and they both lay down on their beds.

"Wow, a lot of jet travel on this case, right?" asked Prentiss.

"Yeah." JJ sighed loudly "Guess that's why we're all so tired."

They both stayed quiet after that for some minutes. Obviously they were both thinking about how maybe Reid wasn't so tired because of the jet, but because of the nightmares.

"I hope he'll be all right." JJ exhaled.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Rossi arrived in his room quietly. Of all the BAU members, there was no doubt he was the least worried about Reid. In his mind, the rest was exaggerating a little bit. I mean, the kid was right: it was just a nightmare. It was not like he was the only one who had had them. In fact, they all had. It was a given that their job was more disturbing than many other jobs. They were prone to get like Reid was every once in a while.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Once in his room, Hotch put his hands over his face and grunted loudly. How many more times exactly were they going to have to worry about Reid? Had they not done that enough? Kidnapped. Drugged. Tortured. Taken hostage. Poisoned. Shot. Reid had definitely done it all. I mean, what else could possibly overcome him? Hotch didn't even have the imagination to come up with something the kid hadn't already suffered. He sat down on his bed. Then lay down. And hoped. Hoped this was indeed just a nightmare. Nothing else.

OOOXOOOXOOO

On the way to their room, which was right next to Hotch's, Morgan and Reid exchanged nothing but silent glances. Morgan had received the key from Hotch, so he was the one to open the door when they arrived at their room. Reid walked in and chose his bed without asking Morgan. It wasn't like any of the two beds was obviously better, or more comfortable, so Morgan just dismissed it and sat down on the remaining bed. Reid put his bag on his bed and pulled out a pajama. It was grey with yellow butterflies and bugs; it looked like it was made for a twelve-year-old. Morgan had to hold himself in from making a comment. Reid took unbuttoned and took off his shirt. Morgan had to stop himself from commenting again, but this time on how incredibly skinny the kid was. Then Reid put on his pajama shirt and took off his pants. He didn't seem to mind that Morgan was watching. Finally he put on his pajama pants, took his bag again, opened a smaller compartment, took out his toothbrush and toothpaste and went to brush his teeth in the bathroom. That reminded Morgan to do the same.

After they were both done brushing their teeth, Reid got under his bedcovers and Morgan just sat down on his bed. Morgan was still fully dressed –except for his shoes, socks and belt- and intended to sleep that way. Reid was obviously tired. Very tired, exhausted, even, because after getting under his bedcovers, he immediately said:

"Good night."

"Good night." Morgan replied sadly. Then he got underneath his covers, too, and turned off the light. It wasn't long before they were both fast asleep.

OOOXOOOXOOO

It was around two in the morning when Morgan was woken up roughly. He didn't realize what it was that had woken him up at first, but quickly did when he saw Reid lying on the floor next to his bed kicking, punching and almost screaming from time to time. Morgan jumped out of his bed and rushed to Reid's side.

"What the hell?" he thought "Reid?" he said as he shook the kid to wake him up.

"No!" Reid screamed and cried. Morgan shook him a little harder and said, a little harder, too, but not too hard so that he wouldn't wake up everyone else, if they hadn't already been woken up by Reid:

"Reid! Hey, Reid, wake up!"Morgan grabbed both of Reid's hands to stop him from moving them.

"No!" Reid said again. He had calmed down and this time his 'No' wasn't as much a scream as it was a cry. Never had Morgan seen Reid cry like this. Not even when he had told him about the time he was stripped naked and tied to a pole.

"No…" Reid said again as he opened his eyes and was, thus, just crying now. Morgan let go of his hands, but the kid kept them in the same position. Reid cried. And kept crying. And Morgan sat next to him, waiting. It lasted about ten minutes before Reid had calmed down. The he was just sobbing. And his sobbing lessened by the minute. Morgan sighed. He hated seeing the kid like that. Then Reid stopped completely. Morgan caressed Reid's forehead a couple of times before asking:

"Are you all right now?" with the most gentle voice Reid had ever heard. Reid nodded slightly:

"Yeah…" he waited a couple of seconds and then added "I don't know why."

Morgan looked at him questioningly.

"I don't know why. I don't remember my dream, I don't know why I cried…But I couldn't stop." Reid said as his voice began to break again. Morgan listened as he stared at him sympathetically.

"I can't remember it!" Reid said as he slammed his head against the floor, and quietly cried again. Morgan sighed and reassuringly told the genius-boy:

"Shh…shh…It'll be all right, kid."

Morgan caressed Reid's forehead once more until the kid fell asleep again. When he was finally asleep, Morgan picked him up from the ground, put him back on his bed and covered him. Then Morgan went back to his own bed, and fell asleep as well.

OOOXOOOXOOO

The next morning, Hotch went from door to door knocking to wake his team up. He knocked on Reid and Morgan's door as last and waited there. No one opened it, so he knocked again. Some minutes later Morgan opened the door.

"Yeah, Hotch we're coming."

"Okay." Hotch said, and just when Morgan was about to close the door, he said:

"Hey, Morgan?" Morgan looked at Hotch "Is…is Reid all right? I heard him scream this morning."

Morgan exhaled noisily, turned around to look at Reid getting out of his bed, then looked back at Hotch and answered:

"I don't know." Hotch had a really worried look on his face which begged for more information.

"He had a nightmare," Morgan continued "evidently." Hotch nodded "First he was kicking and punching, but then he just…" Morgan sighed, gazed away for a second, and then proceeded. "Then he just cried." Hotch looked surprised. He had clearly not heard Reid cry that morning. "Hotch, he cried for like an hour." Morgan looked at Reid again, who was now getting dressed, so he closed the door a bit.

"He tell you why he cried? What he dreamed?" Hotch asked curiously.

"He told me he didn't remember his nightmare…again. And he told me he didn't know why he was crying." Morgan answered honestly.

"Okay." Hotch said cheerlessly before he looked at his watch "Breakfast's from seven to nine. It's seven thirty."

Morgan nodded and closed the door.

**OOO**

**Okay, there's completely and absolutely nothing about the case in this chapter. Oh, no wait, there is. But like two sentences. Not really important I hope. If there are any mistakes, it's because it's two thirty in the morning now, and I didn't feel like reading it before submitting. =) **

**Wow, I just realized I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna finish this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**With "I have absolutely no idea how I'm gonna finish this story" I didn't mean it's almost finished. Just a side note. =) Oh, and the "major trauma" didn't quite happen yet.**

**OOO**

Reid sat down at the table. The team had decided they were not going to bother him with any questions. But they couldn't avoid the worried looks they accidentally gave him when he sat down. Reid knew that everyone was worried about him and assumed they had heard him scream that morning. He sighed.

"Look, I really am fine, alright? I just had some nightmares. It has happened to all of us. The reason I was so…" Reid seemed to be looking for the right word to describe himself "distracted yesterday was because I was frustrated because I couldn't remember my nightmare. But I'm okay now."

Reid actually seemed honest, and the serene tone in his voice managed to calm the team down. He did look better than he did the day before, despite having woken up screaming and crying that very day. The team sighed in relief before JJ noticed something.

"Wait, so this time you did remember your nightmare?" she asked Reid frowning. Reid looked up at her, and so did the rest of the team, proceeding to looking at Reid waiting for an answer. Reid hesitated, looking uncomfortable.

"Umm…no, that's not what I meant." He finally replied.

"Then what did you mean?" Rossi asked.

"I don't know! I'm just feeling somewhat better today." Reid raised his voice.

"Okay, that's good." Hotch smiled at him "Let's just eat breakfast and go to the California PD."

OOOXOOOXOOO

When the team arrived at the California PD, a man walked up to them:

"Agent Roy Keller. I'm in charge of the Veronica Evans murder." The man said.

JJ shook his hand first, while introducing the rest of the team. Then he shook hands with Hotch, followed by Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi. The man also managed to shake the unprepared and startled Reid's' hand. Reid instantly profiled him on this: a man of authority. Roy Keller was in his sixties, and looked overall healthy.

"I'll bring you to the crime scene. Follow me with your car, I'll go with my own." He walked outside and got in his car. The team followed him outside, and they all got inside Hotch's SUV. This time, the ride was a little longer. It lasted almost two hours. They didn't have much to talk about, and Reid fell asleep on Morgan's shoulder after half an hour. Morgan grunted.

"Hmm…he fell asleep." He said out loud. Everyone but Hotch, who was driving, turned around to look at Reid. Prentiss and JJ smiled.

"He didn't get much sleep in the last two days." Prentiss explained, putting on a sympathetic look on her face.

"Yeah, I know" Morgan said quietly, as to not wake the kid up "But he better not drool on me!" he joked, speaking a bit louder. The team chuckled, and went back to what they were doing; which included reading magazines and uncomfortably playing cards in the car.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Reid was still fast asleep when the car before them, that contained Agent Keller, stopped in front of a house. The house was pretty big, but its garden was completely empty and the grass was dry. Hotch parked the car behind the Agent's car. Morgan shook Reid to wake him up. When the way he was doing it didn't work, Morgan shook him harder, pretty hard, and said his name. Reid slowly opened his eyes, then rubbed them and yawned before exiting the car with Morgan. The rest of the team was already inside of the house. Morgan and Reid ran inside.

Since this was the most recent crime scene, the blood was still pretty fresh. Veronica had been killed in her bedroom, in her bed.

"He stabbed her thirty four times. Nothing seems to be missing." Roy said. JJ raised her eyebrows. Morgan turned to him and asked:

"Thirty four?" the Agent nodded. Morgan looked at Hotch "The first was eighteen, the second was twenty two and now it's thirty four. He's getting more violent. He's beginning to need more and more to fulfill his needs." Hotch nodded.

"Yes. And that means the time period between murders could get shorter. We should expect the next victim today." Everyone nodded.

"How did he enter the house?" Rossi asked. Agent Keller groaned ad rubbed his eyes.

"We're not sure. Every door and window downstairs was locked. And it looks like the only way he could have gotten in through is this window." He pointed at the window next to the door of Veronica's room. "But it seems unlikely." He said hopelessly "It's like a twenty five foot climb. And I doubt he brought a ladder."

Hotch walked over to the window, opened it and looked down.

"For someone very fit it could be possible to climb up this wall." He said, still looking down. Roy went to stand next to Hotch, whom stepped away to give him space, and looked down the window. Then he nodded.

"You're right, it's possible. But hard." He concluded.

"Maybe he's had lessons on how to climb?" JJ suggested.

"Could be. We'll ask Garcia to look into it." Hotch answered "Where did he find the murder weapon?"

"We didn't find a murder weapon." The older man responded "We assumed he brought one and took it with him when he left." The team exchanged glances.

"Well, that's new." Morgan remarked.

"Yeah…yeah, it is." Hotch frowned.

"He's learning. He's not risking not finding a weapon anymore." Reid analyzed.

"And getting more violent. He's learning how to be a better killer." Rossi said. Hotch turned to JJ.

"You're giving a press conference. I think we're ready."

OOOXOOOXOOO

"We're looking for a white man in his mid twenties to late forties. This man is physically fit and strong. He has attacked women in three different states, and we do believe his next murder will not take place in California, but in one of the surrounding states, being Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. He's preying on women in their mid fifties. These women have been ill-treated by men in their past. We beg to women fitting this description to be careful." JJ said, keeping her natural calm in these situations as the crown began asking questions in chaos. JJ stepped away from the stage she was standing on and went to Hotch, who was located some feet from her.

"That was okay, right?" she asked. Hotch nodded.

"What do we do now?" she asked again. Hotch didn't look at her when he said:

"We wait."

OOOXOOOXOOO

When Hotch and JJ arrived in the room California PD had offered the BAU, Hotch was asked the same question by Reid that JJ has posed some minutes ago.

"Now what do we do?"

"We wait." Hotch answered again.

"We wait? You mean for another victim?" Morgan asked upset.

"Or some sort of answer to the press conference." Hotch said.

"You think he'll do that?" Rossi asked.

"Maybe."

OOOXOOOXOOO

"Honey, I have looked for mountain climbing schools, but there are way too many to find one man between the ages of thirty five to fifty!" Garcia sounded desperate and Morgan sighed.

"In which states did you look?"

"I have searched in Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada for men between the ages of thirty five and fifty who are in mountain climbing schools. Do you have any idea how many men those are? Any idea? Any? Well, here's what I can tell you: a lot! I don't know how I'm supposed to find this guy! You need to narrow it down!" Garcia was really freaking out. They hadn't had a case with this large a killing area before and they had no idea in which state their UNSUB even lived! Garcia had good reason to feel the way she did.

"Okay, calm down, Baby Girl! We'll try to narrow it down. We really don't expect you to find our guy right now, all right?" Morgan reassured her considerately. Reid's phone rang.

"Okay." Garcia said, more calmly than before "Okay, I'll calm down." Reid answered his phone and paced a little further away from Garcia through the computer screen so he could hear the person calling him better.

"You calmed down already?" Morgan laughed.

"Yeah…yes, I have. Yes, I am. Yes. I'll just keep digging. Call me if you need anything, sugar!"

"Gotcha!" Morgan grimaced, and was about to push a button on the laptop's keyboard to hang up the Skype call with Garcia, when something behind him got his attention.

**OOO**

**OMG, that's so evil, a cliffhanger! Sorta. Muahaha! Sorry. What do ya think got his attention, huh? Sorry again. **

**It's late and I want to sleep.**

**I lasted this long to update because I was stuck at the beginning of this chapter. I didn't know what to make them say at breakfast. I hope I manage to write the next part skillfully…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, so here's the next chap everyone has been waiting for! Sorry for the cliffhanger. I love cliffhangers. I might make more in the future. XD**

**OOO**

Reid realized he wasn't breathing and inhaled deeply, and loudly enough to catch Morgan's attention. He inhaled deeply again, even though he didn't need it, and he was getting way too much oxygen. Morgan stood up from his chair and rushed over to Reid's.

"Reid?" Morgan asked, putting his hand on Reid's shoulder.

Reid continued breathing irregularly: taking some very big, deep breaths; and some short shallow and rapid ones. He began stuttering and tried to lessen his difficulty to breathe by covering his mouth and nose with his hands.

Despite Reid's indistinct babbling, Morgan understood without problems what he was trying to say: "I can't breathe". Morgan was able to figure this out, not by the so-called words coming out of the kid's mouth but by the obvious fact that he could indeed not breathe. Some distance away, Garcia was watching the whole thing and was practically screaming through her screen.

"I know you can't. You're hyperventilating, Reid, you need to calm down." Morgan said supportively, but unable to hide the fear and curiosity in his voice.

"Sit down" he told the kid, leading him to the nearest chair. All of a sudden, Reid shifted his hands from his face to his chest.

"Reid, are you alright?" Morgan showed his concern more clearly this time. Reid was sweating and shaking, as he held both his hands on his chest and squeezed. Reid bent over to ease his breathing difficulties and chest pain. Morgan's worries increased even more.

"Reid!" he yelled as he put his hand on the kid's shoulder and tried to look him in the eyes, but failing because Reid had closed his eyes. Reid reallocated one of the hands he was holding on his chest and used it to lean against the wall. Morgan took the hint to meaning he could no longer carry his own weight, so he decided to help Reid, supporting him by grabbing the kid by his arm. The second Morgan took hold of Reid's arm; he fell to the ground entirely. Morgan only managed to stop his fall enough to prevent the genius from hitting his head against the floor.

"Reid!" Morgan screamed again, but this time a lot harder.

"Hotch!" he yelled through the door as he put the kid down on the ground "Hotch, get in here!"

Hotch arrived seconds later, since he had heard Morgan scream Reid's name right before he screamed his, and was already headed there. When Hotch entered the room, the first thing he saw was Reid, on the floor; and Morgan, kneeling next to him. A worried look appeared on Hotch's face.

"What happened?" he said trying to keep his calm, as he rushed over to Morgan's side.

"He had a panic attack." Morgan stated as he turned around to face Garcia on the computer screen and shouted: "Call 911"

"Why?" Hotch asked as soon as Morgan turned back around "Why did he have a panic attack?" Hotch sounded genuinely curious, as well as worried and puzzled.

"I don't know…" Morgan replied, realizing he did, in fact, have no idea why the kid had suddenly began hyperventilating and then fainted. "I don't know" he repeated, more to himself. Hotch sighed and changed the subject.

"How long till' the paramedics arrive?" he said as he stood up, grabbed the cup of water standing on the table and splashed it all over Reid's face in one quick motion. The kid woke up roughly, coughed and he rolled to one side as if he had just almost drowned. Morgan and Hotch both sighed in relief, even though they knew the real problem wasn't whether Reid would have woken up or not, but why he passed out in the first place. They also heard a sigh coming from the computer screen.

"Oh, god. Reid, are you alright?" Morgan asked as Reid continued coughing.

"Hmm… *cough* what happened?" Reid asked while he shifted to a more comfortable position.

"You had a panic attack and passed out." Morgan affirmed "We called 911."

"What? Why? I'm fine." The young agent started as he Morgan helped him stand up "I don't need a hospital."

"Yes, you do, Reid. You are going to a hospital." Hotch's authoritarian tone was hard to ignore or talk back to, so Reid simply nodded and then sighed. The paramedics came rushing through the door in no time and Reid voluntarily went with them and got in the ambulance.

OOOXOOOXOOO

"JJ here."

"Hey, JJ, we're in the hospital-" Morgan began but was interrupted by the blonde media liaison.

"What? What happened? Are you okay?" concern was the best word to describe her tone of voice.

"Yeah, we're fine, don't worry. Reid had a panic attack; we're just here for check-ups" Morgan reassured.

"Oh, okay, you had me worr- wait, what… uh … what happened to Reid?"

"We don't know." Morgan sighed "Tell Prentiss and Rossi about this, will ya?"

"Okay…"

OOXOOOXOOO

Hotch stood next to Reid while the doctors checked to see if he was alright, and Reid seemed pretty bothered by having to have come to the hospital. In more than one occasion Reid pushed the doctor's hand away and he had a constant frown on his face. But Hotch could see there was something more to that frown. It was not just the trouble of coming to the hospital. Deep down, there was also a hint of confusion, anxiety and distress.

"Okay, Dr. Reid," the doctor began after about half an hour of check-ups "you seem to be alright. I'll bring the discharge papers and you'll be out of here in no time." The doctor smiled at them, then left. Hotch turned around to see a very distracted-looking Reid.

"Reid?" Hotch said with utter serenity. The kid didn't respond and was still looking at the wall in front of him "Reid?" Hotch repeated, a little louder to definitely get his attention this time. It took him a couple of seconds, but Reid snapped out of his trance, inhaled deeply and looked up at Hotch.

"Yeah?" he said quickly, hoping Hotch wouldn't bring up what he feared he would, and he did.

"Are you okay?" Hotch asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head a little bit to one side.

"Fine." Reid answered in a not very convincing manner.

"Reid, you just had a panic attack, you're not fine. What happened?"

Reid laughed sarcastically as he exhaled strongly and said: "Nothing."

"Reid! Don't lie to me!" Hotch shouted making Reid look uncomfortable.

"I…" he muttered and cleared his throat, then looked Hotch in the eyes for a second before looking away "I need to talk to Garcia."

Hotch stared at Reid a little alarmed and confused, making the kid repeat himself as he saw the older man wasn't patching him through with the technical analyst he had demanded to speak with, or giving him a little space and time alone to do so himself.

"I need to talk to Garcia. Could you leave me alone so I can talk to her? Please." His request couldn't have been pronounced more politely, and Hotch had little choice but to give the kid a minute on his own.

As soon as Hotch left, Reid took out his cell phone and dialed Garcia's number with trembling hands.

"You have reached the office of supreme genius, speak and be recognized!" Garcia practically sang, sounding as gleeful and happy as she always did.

"Garcia, it's me-"

"G-boy! What do need?" she interrupted.

"I need you to check something for me." Garcia's grin instantly disappeared when she heard the serious tone in her genius's voice.

"You okay?" she asked straightforwardly "You sound… tense."

"Yeah, I'm… uh… I- I need you to check something." Reid avoided Garcia's question "Please." He added, to not sound too demanding.

"Umm… okay, what should I check?"

"Check… uhm… ask… c-call…" Reid started to stutter and Garcia knew that whatever it was Reid wanted her to check, it was serious.

"Honey?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah?" Reid actually sounded a little relieved that he was no longer under the pressure of asking what he was planning to ask.

"Are you sure you're okay? You know you can tell me anything."

"I know, Garcia. Thank you." He inhaled deeply, then let all the air out in one profound exhale, and rapidly divulged: "I need you to check for any murders fitting this case's MO in the area of Nevada."

Garcia frowned. "Nevada?"

"Yes, Nevada." Reid repeated a little annoyed at what he thought was a pretty damn inutile question.

"I don't understand, why-"

"Just do it." Reid snapped as his breathing had increased in frequency.

"Reid?" Garcia asked sounding hurt, not having any real question in mind, just expecting Reid to justify his sudden anger and inappropriate lashing out at her.

"I-I'm sorry, Garcia. But, could you… please?" he almost whispered the last word, calming down again.

"Okay, honey."

Reid hung up and sighed. He was mentally praying Garcia didn't find anything. She wouldn't. She couldn't.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Hotch left Reid alone and encountered Morgan in the hallway of the hospital. Morgan was headed toward where Hotch had just left Reid on the kid's request and thus stopped Morgan from proceeding down that road by grabbing the chocolate man's arm. Morgan looked at him surprised.

"What's going on?"

"Reid asked for some time alone. He said 'needed to talk to Garcia'." Hotch quoted.

"What for?" Morgan questioned as he curiously looked at Hotch, whom looked away.

"He didn't say, but I'm guessing it has something to do with why he had that panic attack in the first place." Hotch said with a sarcastic voice, as he knew that was why he needed to talk to Garcia, and it was obvious.

Morgan sighed loudly and gazed at the floor with a shake of his head.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

**OOO**

**I can't believe I still haven't told what happened. I had done so, but changed it, because I really wasn't satisfied with how it came out. It royally sucked.**

**I welcome constructive criticism. **

**Now this time I could take a while to update. School begins in less than a week, PLUS, I don't really know what do write right now. Stuck again…**


	6. Chapter 6

Oh My God. Oh my god, Oh my god, _Oh my god_. No way. There's just no way, is there? I mean-No! Nah. It- this- he… huh, okay, stop panicking! Breathe, girl, _breathe_! Breathe.

Garcia had Hotch on speed-dial, so she reached for the phone and pushed one single button, almost dropping the phone in the process since her hands were shaking violently, failing miserably at the "breathe". Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch!" Garcia shrieked, making the unit chief distance phone from his ear. "Did Reid talk to you?" she asked in such a way she could make a psychopath worry about her.

"Not really. Do you know something?" Hotch asked curious and worried.

"_Yes_, I know something!" she said in a well-of-course-I-do-why-else-would-I-call-you sort of way, as she panicked and then lowered her voice more talking to herself than anyone else "I can't believe this. This is crazy. Ooh, my poor baby-"

"Penelope." Hotch intercepted "Please calm down."

"But I- Hotch he- the… That sadistic son of a bitch." She suddenly concluded, regaining her composure and sounding outrageously angry; like no one had ever heard her before.

"Who, Garcia? Why?" Hotch asked getting more curious and desperate by the second.

"The UNSUB. Our guy. He killed another victim." Garcia lost her cool again and continued almost crying "He killed her."

Hotch's core sank as he barely had the strength -or will- to ask "Who?" with the softest voice so he was only just audible.

"His mom! Reid's _mom_. Diana Reid. He _killed_ her!""

Hotch's eyes widened so much it looked as if they were going to pop out of their sockets, and speechless, he hung up.

OOOXOOOXOOO

After receiving that terrible piece of information, it took Hotch a couple of minutes to get back to his senses. And when he did, the first thing he did was rush to the room he had left Reid behind and made a detour to encounter Morgan on his way there.

"Morgan. Bad news."

"What's up?" Morgan asked, not sounding as concerned as he should be at that point. Hotch assumed he had been having one of his typical conversations with Garcia just a minute before Hotch himself had spoken to her. Hotch sighed deeply, not quite knowing how to break this news to the muscular agent standing in front of him, and decided to go the straightforward way after he sighed again.

"Diana Reid is dead."

As soon as those words exited his boss's mouth, Morgan's eyes widened considerately as he stumbled on his own words for some seconds before being able to form a correct sentence.

"What happened?" His voice was as gentle and quiet as he could get it to be. It had actually been quite a miracle he hadn't burst and punched a wall or start screaming at Hotch, sliding in some swearing and flying insults. But Morgan was doing a hell of an effort to _not_. And Hotch could tell.

"Our UNSUB killed her, Morgan."

Morgan took some seconds to absorb the facts, after which he suddenly realized something that made him sigh hopelessly as he grabbed his forehead.

"Oh my God…"

Hotch was a little confused by Morgan's attitude, and thus, asked:

"What?"

"That- uh- that must have been the phone call he got earlier."

Hotch more or less mimicked Morgan's prior reaction, as he, too, sighed and also covered part of his face with his hands.

"Right… um, yeah, tha- that was probably it."

It took the both of them quite some time before someone to speak again. And when someone did, it was quiet and respectful, like one would speak at a funeral. Which, they realized, wouls soon be the case.

"Let's go, Morgan."

OOOXOOOXOOO

On their arrival at the room Reid was currently being held in, the sight saddened Hotch and Morgan. Reid was nervously taping his foot on the floor and biting his nails. From far away, it also seemed he had been crying, or at least was about to. The two spectators gazed at each other before walking up to the young man. Only when they were a couple of feet away from him did he notice; looking up at them a little startled and clearing his throat.

"Oh, hey guys! Can I get out of here anytime soon?" he said as cheerily as possible.

The two other agents only looked at him with very meaning-filled faces; very easy to read for a skilled profiler like Reid. Their eyes showed misery, their body language showed empathy and respect, the looks they gave him illustrated the fact that they knew. And Reid could tell; which created an uncomfortable silence between the three of them. Finally, after a minute or so, Reid shook his head in both directions one time, sighed, and said:

"Just… just tell me."

Reid shifted between Hotch and Morgan, staring at the both of them, begging for an answer. But above all, praying the answer was not what he thought –and feared- it was. The look in the other agents' eyes was almost enough to answer, but still he needed what was next to be really certain. Morgan shook his head and sighed.

"Sorry, kid."

There wasn't much of a change on Reid's expression -Morgan and Hotch assumed it was because the kid had been smart enough to figure it out himself- all he did was inhale deeply, and after a few seconds, clear his throat before talking quietly; his voice breaking in the process.

"Could you give me a minute alone, please?"

Way too polite. The kid could have been screaming at them and telling them to 'go the fuck away', they wouldn't have minded. But it was in his nature to be that way. Screaming and getting mad just wasn't his thing.

The two older agents nodded and civilly left the room without saying another word.

OOOXOOOXOOO

Reid couldn't believe it. I mean, he could… but he couldn't. It was all very hard to explain, even for that big old brain of his. He just hadn't quite had time to fully absorb what had just happened. His mother was dead, and the world seemed like another now. There was a puncture in his soul, a feeling of emptiness in his character. He didn't think he'd ever be the same again. His world, his life revolved around her. He told her everything and she understood everything. She was the only woman he had ever loved, since he had never had a real girlfriend; his mother had been all he had. And now she was gone. Killed. Stabbed. More than once. Probably more than twenty -more than _thirty_ times. Bloody. Messy. Frightening -No! He had to stop thinking about that; he didn't have to think about that. It was painful enough for him without bearing in mind how painful it had been for her.

Reid had been lost in thought that when the nurse finally arrived with the discharge papers, she startled him so much he nearly hit the roof.

"Ooh, sorry for that."

Reid cleared his throat again. "That's no problem."

"Okay, so, Dr. Reid, here are your discharge papers. You just have to sign here," she pointed at a blank on her piece of paper "and then you're free to go!"

The nurse seemed to be having a good day -contradictory to Reid- which was why, with everything she said, she had a huge smirk on her face and a cheery glow in her eyes. Reid took hold of the papers and the pen the nurse was handing him, and signed. He looked around the room rapidly and concluded there was no team member present, so he stopped the nurse, who was about to leave.

"Excuse me, could you do me a favor?"

The woman smiled still and happily exclaimed "Sure!"

"Do you remember the people I was with earlier?"

"Um, no, sorry. Another doctor attended to you."

"Oh… right. Well, anyway, it's two agents called Morgan and Hotchner. Could you please tell them I've left? And shut off my cell phone. I'll turn it back on when I'm ready."

With that, Reid hurried out of the hospital, knowing the information he had left the nurse to find Morgan and Hotch was barely enough. But he knew she could figure it out. And that wasn't really his problem right then.

**OOOXOOOXOOO**

**Okay, I know it took a pretty long time. Sorry. And I know it isn't much longer (I think it's even shorter?) than the other ones. But I'm trying. =) And I am positive: I will succeed! XD**

**Next chapter: more about the case, less about Reid.**

**I didn't re-read this, so there may be some mistakes. Oops. Sorry.**

The latter man's eyes widened even more as realization hit and everything started to make sense. The message. The phone call. Reid's peculiar unexplained phone call that caused him to have a panic attack. Morgan


End file.
